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5 NEWS maltatoday | SUNDAY • 12 NOVEMBER 2023 Malta's predilection for house names ing well with the ideology of the Maltese Labour Party. One also comes across hous- es named for Maltese political giants like Dom (short version for Dominic, the first name of Labour premier Mintoff) or watershed political events like Dar il-Ħelsien (Freedom House), Villa Indipendenza (Villa Independence]) and 31 ta' Marzu (31st March: one of Malta's national days). Nature calls and mixing initials But secular house names have become more popular, and some of these appear on the facades of many homes: 'Sea Breeze', a naturalistic house name, is the second most com- mon choice for a house namde in post-1977 Marsaskala (14 times), as well as other nat- ural features such as Il-Qol- la (The Hillock), Għabex and Tramonto (Sunset), il-Ponta (the Point), Bay View, Mistral, Dahlia, Poinsettia and Rain- bow. One common practice iden- tified in the study is that of naming the house with a selec- tion of letters from the names of the partners (or children) living there. Examples include ChaRit, MarTrev, CarAnt and NaJoPetAn, a practice which according to the authors "has the character of a pub quiz", leaving passers-by wondering for whom these houses are named for. One of the most original names found was 'Dar u Telaq', a pun on the Maltese word 'dar' which, apart from being the noun 'home', also stands for the verb 'turned' (so the witty name actually says 'turned and left'). This suggests that some contemporary Maltese are us- ing 'clever' combinations to name their home, a practice increasingly common in other countries like the United King- dom. And of course, one of the most curious findings was the pop- ularity of the name 'Anfield', home of Liverpool FC, and the chosen name of 16 post-1977 homes in Mosta. This made this house name the second most popular for post-1977 houses in this locality. Other house names sug- gesting a sporting connection found in various localities were La Vecchia Signora (Juventus FC), Old Trafford (Manches- ter United FC), Casa Del Piero (probably named for the fa- mous Juventus player Alessan- dro, as well as AC Milan and Inter's stadium 'San Siro' and Spurs' home 'White Hart Lane'. jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt